Chapter 46

Episode 46

Lydia widened her eyes and inspected the luxurious case back and forth.

“A present? Why?”

“Who knows. As someone who practically oversees everything in the palace, it might be an apology for failing to anticipate and manage the presence of an uninvited guest at yesterday’s banquet.”

Ilian spoke with heavy sarcasm. He couldn’t understand why Alec had been so careless, even though he knew Ilian was letting Yulina off easily.

Lydia, however, seemed to have decided—very displeasingly to Ilian—to defend Alec like a magnanimous person.

“She’s a dear younger sister, and family. Imagine if it were Countess Rodrigo.”

“My sister isn’t foolish enough to pine after someone who’s already married.”

“That’s true. But Princess Yulina will come to realize that slowly, too.”

Ilian felt oddly disappointed at Lydia’s detached response, as if all of this were someone else’s business.

Of course, since they weren’t a real couple, speaking about it objectively like it didn’t concern them wasn’t strange—but the distance in her attitude still left him feeling unsatisfied.

But Lydia seemed more interested in the gift she held in her hand than in Ilian’s mood.

“Wonder what’s inside… Ah, it’s a bookmark.”

Inside the case was a leather bookmark. Apart from the elegant feather hanging at the end, it didn’t seem particularly special, but Lydia gently stroked it as if it were something precious.

“Maybe he sent it because he thought I like reading.”

“That’s an obvious observation anyone could make.”

“Did you have a fight with His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Otherwise, she couldn’t understand why Ilian had been speaking so sarcastically ever since he picked up the case and held it in his hands.

Lydia brushed her fingers over a delicately drawn image on the back of the bookmark. It was probably just a rose design, but she liked the fully bloomed rose—it vaguely reminded her of the Solem family’s crest.

“You didn’t show this much interest in the jewel box I gave you.”

“Well, that wasn’t really mine, was it? This… this one, can I keep it? If I have to return it…”

Ilian didn’t like that Alec had given Lydia a gift that pleased her so much. But he couldn’t keep grumbling at her when she looked reluctant to put the bookmark back in the case.

“I’m not taking it. Alec gave it to you. What would it make me if I took it away?”

“A rightful recipient reclaiming a gift meant for the real ‘Marchioness of Esteban,’ I suppose.”

The real Marchioness of Esteban.

He doubted such a person could even exist. From the start, he’d never intended to put anyone in that position until Lydia came into his life.

As for the title everyone was so noisy about, Leon could inherit it. Or if Leon had a younger sibling someday, it could go to that child.

“Alec probably wouldn’t have given a gift like that if it were anyone else but you.”

Pretending to be a good person and winning favor—this was Alec Cronon’s way of acknowledging someone in his own way.

He had likely been skeptical about Lydia suddenly stepping into the role of marchioness, and had been observing her all along.

After drawing his own conclusions from yesterday’s events, he must have decided Lydia suited Ilian and picked out the gift himself.

“In that case, please pass along my thanks.”

If Ilian hadn’t known very well that Alec had neatly put aside his feelings for someone and was now completely detached, he probably wouldn’t even have wanted to pass on her thanks.

Fortunately, Ilian knew how to draw Lydia’s attention back to himself.

“Since you won’t be able to use the royal archives much anymore, I went ahead and got some books from there that you might be interested in. Just read these instead. No need to go to the archives.”

He had remembered the titles of the books she had shown interest in and gathered them all, stacking them neatly in a corner of the room.

“Really? I was a bit disappointed about that, so I’m glad. Actually, I don’t think the royal archives had as many books in my field of interest as I expected anyway.”

“What you want is probably all related to magic, right?”

“Most likely. Since everyone treats it as nonsense, it’s hard to find anything proper. Sometimes it’s even classified as fiction, so it’s tough to locate anything.”

Lydia slid off the bed and began picking up the books one by one, examining them thoroughly.

One of them was indeed about the Lescal Archipelago, which she had been reading yesterday.

She seemed absorbed in the books for a while, then suddenly looked up and said,

“Oh, actually, if we’re going to leave, there’s something I’d like to pick up from the shop.”

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing big.”

“Not today. Let’s wait until you’re feeling better.”

He didn’t know what kind of odd thing she wanted to bring this time, but thinking too much about it was meaningless.

Lydia’s thoughts—when tied to “magic” and “antiques”—were never the kind you could predict.

***

That was how Lydia and Ilian ended up preparing to go out a few days later.

Ilian was estimating the time and looking up at the stairs, knowing Lydia would come down at any moment, when a voice beside him drew his gaze.

“You’ve brightened up a lot, Master.”

The butler, leaning casually against the banister at the bottom of the stairs, approached him. Ilian tilted his head in acknowledgment, but kept his eyes on the staircase.

“Anyone would, next to someone so bright.”

“Lydia is like that.”

If she had a personality that radiated such bright light, perhaps even the gloom and desolation that came whenever he thought of the Esteban estate would be swept away in an instant.

“Are the preparations for the estate nearly done?”

“We’ve been preparing ever since your order. We could leave immediately. It’s been a while.”

The butler looked a bit surprised by Ilian’s decision.

He must have expected that Ilian, even after getting married, would stay holed up in the capital’s mansion.

Ordinarily, that would’ve been the case—but this time, there seemed to be no alternative.

As if fate itself were nudging him in the back, telling him it was time to face the past like a true adult.

“It’s about time.”

The butler responded with a trace of admiration in his voice.

“A wise decision. No matter what anyone says, you are the master of that place. I’m sure Madam will love the estate too.”

“…Yeah.”

At the very least, the bright-colored low castle and the beautiful natural surroundings seemed to suit Lydia well.

“I’ll give orders to have the rose garden tended properly.”

“No need to go overboard.”

“But we can’t afford to disappoint Madam, can we?”

Ilian considered suggesting they reorganize the study instead, or dust off the mysterious old items wasting away in the estate’s storage to pique Lydia’s curiosity—but realizing how trivial the idea sounded, he stopped himself.

“…Lydia.”

Before long, Lydia came down the stairs—wearing plainer and darker clothes than usual, with her hair tied high in a large ribbon almost exactly like when they first met.

“Ilian.”

She frowned and fiddled with her hair, seemingly displeased with her return to a familiar style.

But her expression brightened immediately when she spotted Ilian.

Lydia paused awkwardly a few steps from the bottom of the stairs when she noticed that Ilian, staring at her, hadn’t reached out his hand.

Even turning around didn’t reveal anything behind her, only deepening her confusion.

“Why?”

“…Let’s go.”

Ilian, who gently caught her as she almost missed a step, quickly returned to his usual self and gave a scolding that wasn’t quite a scolding.

“You should be more careful. At this rate, you’ll be covered in bruises.”

“This dress is honestly too cumbersome.”

Even inside the carriage, Lydia didn’t let go of his hand.

By now, it was a position they were completely used to. Ilian, watching her lean her chin in one hand and gaze out the window, lightly traced her palm with his fingers as if to tickle her.

It was a spontaneous act, driven by the desire to bring her gaze back to him whenever it wandered elsewhere.